Before We Start  ------------- Follow @iConFantasyJoe  ---------- Before We Start

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The iCon Nation was at it again  with another Thursday Night Smackdown of a fantasy football PRO league.

The date: July 5th 2012

The Time: 9PM Eastern

The Setting:The iCon Nation

The Contest: Fear The Beard - @BNQuinlans July 5th Fireworks Spectacular

Celebrating The iCon Nations iNdependence!

 

The Players:

1 Ginger Bush Kids - A good friend of Donzaga  - Fresh blood that had the sharks circling

2 Short Bus aka Grifter - Back for a second helping this month already - Grifter wasn't gripping this draft

3 DRASHBABY - aka Larry The Legend - The man the myth the Larry - DRash the dominator

4 Brian Quinlan - Aka The Beard - The namesake - The thinking mans drinker and drafter.

5 ShowME - Aka John M. Bringin his A game is easy for this vet - risk vs reward drafter  , screw the QB

6 Fantasy Acumen - Attacked this draft like he was in a Bath Salts induced frenzy!

7 The Jewru - The name says it all - A First Timer on the site, must have smelled the better payouts!  Best Name in history btw.

8 Swagger Jackers - Will compete with MRodgers for best dressed iCon - can't jack his swag so get off his jock.

9 Winners - A Co-owned team -- "The Lag Heard Round The Draft" -Proud owner of chocolate grimace and did wonders to drive his price up.

10 LCayetti - The Principal - Attacked the draft with authority and discipline - a newb to the site - WELCOME the principal folks!

11 GrandMaster3000 - the Wizard - prodigal son , his bad days are better than your good days.

12 First Time - The iCon Virgin - Be gentle  - ease into it , this one's gona be a lifer - just love him afterwards.... caress him (feel uncomfortable yet?...).... (how bout now??...)

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DRAFT RESULTS:

Round 1

1 Foster,Arian RB/HOU
GINGER BUSH KIDS

2 Rice,Ray RB/BAL
Thomas Wozniak

3 McCoy,LeSean RB/PHI
DRASHBABY

4 Johnson,Chris RB/TEN
brian quinlan

5 Johnson,Calvin WR/DET
ShowMe

6 Mathews,Ryan RB/SD
FantasyAcumen

7 Rodgers,Aaron QB/GB
The Jewru

8 JonesDrew,Maurice RB/JAC
SwaggerJackers

9 Charles,Jamaal RB/KC
Winners

10 Forte,Matt RB/CHI
lcayetti

11 Graham,Jimmy TE/NO
Grandmaster 3000

12 Richardson,Trent RB/CLE
First Time

Best Value: Ryan Mathews - Normally I will concede the best value as Arian Foster , but in this case Ryan Mathews dropping from his normal PPR slot of 4/5 gives him the nod - nice pick and fortunate circumstance for Fantasy Acumen.

Worst Value: Jamal Charles - Had a 95% chance to get him in round 2 as he is not drafted 9th overall in any format. Earliest I have seen him prior to this in any money draft I have done was 14th.

Round Analysis: No Gronkowski! Finally some people are learning - I feel like a proud papa. Mathews fell a bit on the Chris Johnson selection. Word out of Tenn is that he is running with purpose this year , unlike last year - can we see CJ1.8K?

Note I accept drafting Graham or Gronk if absolutely every RB you want is gone by pick 11/12 Otherwise RB RB is the only way to go in the back end of round 1.

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Round 2

1 Fitzgerald,Larry WR/ARI
First Time

2 Murray,DeMarco RB/DAL
Grandmaster 3000

3 McFadden,Darren RB/OAK
lcayetti

4 Brady,Tom QB/NE
Winners

5 Lynch,Marshawn RB/SEA
SwaggerJackers

6 Green,A.J. WR/CIN
The Jewru

7 Gronkowski,Rob TE/NE
FantasyAcumen

8 Sproles,Darren RB/NO
ShowMe

9 Jackson,Steven RB/STL
brian quinlan

10 Johnson,Andre WR/HOU
DRASHBABY

11 Welker,Wes WR/NE
Thomas Wozniak

12 Peterson,Adrian RB/MIN

GINGER BUSH KIDS

Round Analysis: Now this is just crazy talk with Gronk falling to Fantasy Acumen! This guy is a surefire first rounder!! Oh wait-- CONTRADICTION ALERT! Truth be told I think this is closer to his real value. I would accept anywhere from 13-17 for him, RB pending, and Acumen benefitted big time. The culprit pick causing him to drop was Brady - in a league w/ a bigger lineup like this, QB should be the least of your concerns. Gronk also gets a double bump because you can flex TE.

Best Value: Gronk - Has to be since this is the lowest I have seen him selected this year and his value in a league like this gets bumped with flex eligibility. Plus he is sexy time!

Worst Value: Tom Brady - I understand the guy is all everything , but QBs are just not as valuable in this format to your team as RB WR are. You can land a perfectly acceptable alternative like Rivers in round 6 or Ryan in round 7 or 8. The best place to land a QB for me this year is to end round 4. Sometimes you get lucky and Stafford is there , or you can take a chance on Vick, otherwise rounds 6-8 is the way to go for me at that position.

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Round 3

1 Marshall,Brandon WR/CHI
GINGER BUSH KIDS

2 White,Roddy WR/ATL
Thomas Wozniak

3 Cruz,Victor WR/NYG
DRASHBABY

4 Brees,Drew QB/NO
brian quinlan

5 Jones,Julio WR/ATL
ShowMe

6 Nicks,Hakeem WR/NYG
FantasyAcumen

7 Bryant,Dez WR/DAL
The Jewru

8 Jackson,Fred RB/BUF
SwaggerJackers

9 Jennings,Greg WR/GB
Winners

10 Wallace,Mike WR/PIT
lcayetti

11 Nelson,Jordy WR/GB
Grandmaster 3000

12 Stafford,Matthew QB/DET
First Time

Round Analysis: 9 WRs 2QBs and 1 Rb off the board! So you can see what position you should be drafting in round 3! To me Larry Fitzgerald just isn't worth the pick this year as you have to draft him at roughly 12-14 to get him; by doing that you don't set yourself for the true values of rounds 3 and 4 - The WR Glut.

Best Value: Greg Jennings - I view him as roughly equal to all the WRs drafted in the first half of this round and he was drafted after them. Jordy Nelson has next to no chance to score that many TDs again , expect a regression in TDs, but will still be a very solid WR.

Worst Value: Mike Wallace - Coming off a year he disappointed fantasy owners coupled with the fact he is now dealing with contract issues has pushed his value to the 4.1-4.4 range. The principal pulled the trigger too early and could have probably had him in round 4. ShoutOut to Dez Bryant as well as this pick was too early for my taste. In general , he is an early to mid 4th round ADP player right now and more consistent options were there. Even though I may believe he will be better than Jennings, for draft value sake, Jennings was he right pick as he still woud have had a shot at Dez on the rebound.

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Round 4

1 Bradshaw,Ahmad RB/NYG
First Time

2 Maclin,Jeremy WR/PHI
Grandmaster 3000

3 Newton,Cam QB/CAR
lcayetti

4 Turner,Michael RB/ATL
Winners

5 Colston,Marques WR/NO
SwaggerJackers

6 Martin,Doug RB/TB
The Jewru

7 Harvin,Percy WR/MIN
FantasyAcumen

8 Bush,Reggie RB/MIA
ShowMe

9 Austin,Miles WR/DAL
brian quinlan

10 Gore,Frank RB/SF

DRASHBABY

11 Smith,Steve WR/CAR
Thomas Wozniak

12 Vick,Michael QB/PHI
GINGER BUSH KIDS

Round Analysis: We see a more even round as 5 Rbs , 2 qbs and 5 WRs were scooped up. Again I want to reiterate that RBs here are just not the proper picks. Why scoop such questionable Rbs like Reggie Bush and Frank "Injured and old" Gore when you can draft some very good WRs or even Cam Newton?! In this setup you can start 4WRs why not hammer them and wait a bit to take your RB2 ? It's not like Gore or Bush are going to set the world on fire.

Best Value: Steve Smith - There is NO WAY this guy should be falling to the back of round 4. Sloppy drafting gentlemen! Tough love and you all deserve to be scolded , he is  early 4 to mid 4 at worst value and Short Bus just took control of that round.

Worst Value: Reggie Bush - Second draft in a row I have worst valued Reggie Bush in round 4. Last year to me was an anomaly - He will not see as many rushing attempts this year and when is the last time Reggie Bush completed two healthy seasons? Horrible offense is horrible and I can't 4th round players with hybrid roles in said offense.

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Round 5

1 Thomas,Demaryius WR/DEN
GINGER BUSH KIDS

2 Brown,Antonio WR/PIT
Thomas Wozniak

3 Manning,Eli QB/NYG
DRASHBABY

4 Lloyd,Brandon WR/NE
brian quinlan

5 Decker,Eric WR/DEN
ShowMe

6 Bowe,Dwayne WR/KC
FantasyAcumen

7 Stewart,Jonathan RB/CAR
The Jewru

8 Britt,Kenny WR/TEN
SwaggerJackers

9 Johnson,Steve WR/BUF
Winners

10 Helu,Roy RB/WAS
lcayetti

11 Wells,Beanie RB/ARI
Grandmaster 3000

12 McGahee,Willis RB/DEN

First Timer

Round Analysis: The questionable RBs are still coming off the board in droves. Have I mentioned how horribly thin this RB class is? It is almost criminally bad to be a 5th round RB in fantasy football this year. The ONLY guy I see with upside in this round is Helu as Stewart is a 7th rounder at best and I just cant envision a scenario that has Willis Mcgahee doing anything near what he did last year. I  do love Helu this year and he belongs perfectly in this spot for what he represents -a shot at winning you your league if he pans out. I have identified round 5 as the round you "Take A Shot To Win Your League." 

Players who can win your league in round 5 - Dem Thom , Britt , Helu and to some extent Antonio Brown here. Though each draft is different , those are the players from this draft that fall in that category. Late 4 early 5 Vick falls there too.

Best Value: Dwayne Bowe , wow what a tasty spot for that guy! Matt Cassel causing him to fall? Who cares! He should not have been sent this far tumbling and that is a GREAT score for Acumen there. Bowe is a 4th rounder so he doesn't fit in my profile as taking a chance in round 5 to win your league because he never should have been there to begin with.

Worst Value: Eli Manning - Eli is at best a late 6th rounder at QB this year. With Rivers and Ryan still there you have to pass Eli in round 5 and take whoever makes it back to you.

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Team Grades And Predictions:

1 Ginger Bush Kids 

Key Players: Vick , Peyton , Foster , AP , Marshall , Dem Thom , Finley , Pettigrew

Team Grade: C+ - Made some good picks and made some head scratchers. Mendenhall in round 8 is unacceptable! Bernard Pierce rarely gets drafted as well and as a result he does not have the type of roster up and down that can withstand adversity and with Vick and AP two of the biggest injury question marks going into the season he will be hard pressed to stay clean throughout the year.

2 Short Bush aka Grifter

Key Players: Matt Ryan , Ray Rice , Redman , Ridley , Ryan Williams , Welker , Steve Smith , Roddy White , Antonio Brown , Fred Davis

Team Grade: A+ - This team is stacked beyond reason . Has one of the big 3 and has FOUR stud PPR WRs to start and STILL has Matt Ryan and Fred Davis at TE - A little weak at RB2 but that doesn't even matter with this squad. Joe Approves! Joe Approves! Joe Approves!

3 DRASHBABY 

Key Players: Eli , Lesean , Best , Gore , Hillman , Andre , Cruz , Garcon , Tamme

Team Grade: B- Eli and Gore Picks are tough for me to swallow. Gore I have identified as someone who's NFL career is about to come to a screeching halt. Eli is not a 5th round QB by any means in this format. Andre and Cruz are great , will need Best to dominate and Garcon to be better than I think he will be in order to compete.

4 Brian Quinlan 

Key Players: Brees , Sjax , Cj1.7K , Gerhart , Austin , Lloyd , Titus , Torrey , VD , T Gonz

Team Grade: B - This drafter puts the B in Beer! I am not a fan of this roster and after his top 2 RBs he has nobody to speak of. If Brees isn't Brees of the last few years then he won't compete. Lloyd could be an XFactor but overall I dont see this team lasting , sorry Beard - Journalistic integrity = call em like I see em! sorry again! Beer on me? 

5 ShowME 

Key Players: Locker/Hasselbeck , R Bush , Sproles , Spiller , Calvin , Julion , Decker , Witten , Ben Tate

Team Grade: B+  will contend if for any other reason then that this player is a very experienced FF'er. Excellent upside WRs that could dominate this season coupled with Sproles, Bush and Spiller make for interesting and exciting PPR players; even though I am not a fan of where R Bush was drafted. Witten at TE is nice , but NO QB and that Hass to knock him down. (cwutididthur?)

6 Fantasy Acumen 

Key Players: Romo , Mathews , Law Firm , Hillis , Nicks , Harvin , Bowe , Vincent Brown , Cobb , Gronk

Team Grade: A : Got some real awesome value in Gronk and has a very deep WR corp. I love this teams makeup ,but I am not sold on Romo for the long term. He has a great chance to win the league. Vincent Brown gets the Joe Approval for Breakout Candidate Extraordinairre.

7 The Jewru 

Key Players: A Rodgers , Doug Martin , Stewart , Daniel Thomas , Starks , Ingram, Dez , AJ Green , DHB

Team Grade: B : Rodgers will mask a lot of his problems, but he will have a real hard time fielding a decent run game. Dez too early , Stewart too early and Doug Martin too unproven. I can not see this team making it to the championship game without Stewart or Daniel Thomas or one of his young RBs going off.

8 Swagger Jackers

Key Players: Ben , The Jets QBs , MJD , Lynch , Fred Jackson , Colston , Britt, Santana Moss , A Hern

Team Grade: B+ after further review of this team he did well and has plenty of RB depth. Picked up A Hern and has Ben who is consistently underrated each year. If Britt plays as a WR1 this year he will make the playoffs with that RB corp.

9 Winners -

Key Players: Brady , Rivers , Charles, Turner , Shonn , D Will , Jennings , Steve Johnson , D Moore , Little

Team Grade: B- : Had a draft room issue and ended up with Turner. In retrospect it was a fine selection mid 4 for the type of team this is. He would have needed to trade Brady in order to contend anyway as his team his loaded with players I don't like this year. Shonn , Dwill , Steve Johnson ,Charles. HOWEVER ,he does have some break out guys that can carry him if Charles can put together a good season off the injury , so I concede that they will have a chance at the playoffs pending  Little, D Moore and Charles.

10 LCayetti

Key Players: Cam , DMC , Forte , Helu , Mike Wallace , Des Jax , Wayne , Jacoby Ford , Jared Cook

Team Grade: B CMON Principal! COME ON!!! YOU WERE SO CLOSE! Cam , Mcfadden , Forte , Helu - you had it in the palm of your hands! Mike Wallace could have been a better WR , Djax is not the right WR to pair with Mike Wallace , too similar weekly boom bust guys is a no no and you needed a top TE with this roster! I like your style and I love those 4 players, but you will need a WR to step up for you in order to contend. Cook will not cut it for me at TE this year.

11 GrandMaster3000 

Key Players: Cutler , Demarco, Beanie , MBush , Nelson , Maclin , Gates , Graham

Team Grade: B+ Slick move pairing Gates with Graham since you can flex a TE. I love Demarco this year , do not love much else for his RBs. Nelson and Maclin are nice WRs , but he will need someone else to step up. Would have expected a better QB on this roster , but has some break out candidates in Demarco and Maclin that have carry team type upside.

First Timer 

Key Players: Stafford , Trent , Ahmad B , Fitz , Vjax , Crabtree , Fleener, Owen Daniels

Team Grade: C - First Timer , I will let you down softly here. You did some great things. Mainly I want to applaud your stamina and you used some interesting tricks that I have never seen before. But, ultimately I prefer more experienced and non Fantasy Football Virgins, for my taste! Stafford ,Trent, Ahmad, Fitz are all above average selections. Vincent Jackson is meh and then the rest , I just can't see the value on your roster. Need Crabtree to be monstrous this year and I can't see that happening - I will work with you to coach you up! Consider this tough love!

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League Predictions:

This league is NOT as wide open as other leagues we drafted recently and I see a few teams that just have it on lock down.

the 4 playoff teams:

Showme

Short Bus

Fantasy Acumen

Swagger Jackers

with Fantasy Acumen overcoming Short Bus in the most contested Finals Match on the site to date!

 

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Truth Be Told I can't decide Which of those teams will win it -- let's hope it ends in a tie!